The Pendant of Jebrah
by Starzangel
Summary: When a secret box is stolen from Arthur's possession, Merlin suspects it may hold the key to the appearance of winged beasts in Camelot. But the prince isn't very forthcoming about the contents and is being altogether oddly furtive and distressed.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: _Merlin_ doesn't belong to me.

Warnings/Spoilers: None. (No specific timeline, but intended to be set at the start of series 2.)

Author's Note: This was written for round one at the LiveJournal community Merlincapfics.

**THE PENDANT OF JEBRAH**

**Prologue**

The key turned stiffly, the lock resisting until finally releasing with a deep clunk that echoed in the empty corridor. The boy winced and glanced fearfully behind him.

But no one came. No one had ventured into this part of the castle for eleven years, ever since the King had locked it up and forbidden passage.

The boy took a deep breath, then pushed open the heavy door.

He stepped into a scene frozen in time. Candles stood in holders with dribbles of wax that had melted and then cooled, a shawl was draped over the back of a chair, a book sat closed on the table with a ribbon marking a page, there was hair tangled in the soft bristles of the brushes on the dresser. All there as if waiting for their owner to return, but they had been waiting for a long time and dust had faded every colour to grey, cobwebs were strung from every corner.

The boy moved slowly, mesmerised by the revealed secrets of this room that had been kept from him. Everything was special, everything was a wonder. His fingers reverently traced the edges of the ornate furniture as his wide eyes drank it all in.

Here he could, in some small way, finally feel her and finally know her. The woman he missed though incapable of remembering her, whose love his lonely half-orphaned soul ached for, this room let him meet her.

There was a portrait in the royal gallery, so he knew she'd been pretty with a kind smile, and had blonde hair and blue eyes just like his. He gasped when he found the painting's yellow silk dress in the wardrobe, touched the pearls that embellished the bodice, the fine lace around the neckline, the tiny bows stitched to the cuffs. It was strange to hold in his hands the reality of the image he had memorised so vividly. It proved she had truly lived, not that he'd any reason to doubt what people said or his father's grief, but it made the ghost of others' memories into something more tangible.

He moved to the bookshelf and ran his fingers over the spines, seeing what she had liked to read – _Gregor's Encyclopaedia of Garden Flora_..._A Beginner's Guide:_ _Herbs & their Uses_..._Woodland Beasts_..._Embroidery for the Modern Woman_..._Motherhood, An Adventure_..._The Ancient History of Albion_..._Tales of the Extraordinary_..._Magical Wonders of the World_... His elbow nudged a trinket off the edge of the shelf. It fell to the floor before he could catch it and rolled under the bed.

The boy hurriedly dropped to his hands and knees and followed it. The trinket was a little gold sphere decorated with gems and it was spinning and bumping into the wall's wooden panelling. He reached out a hand to grasp it, then he noticed something odd about the wall – one of the panels had been cut through and the corner of the bottom piece was sticking up. Without too much bother, he removed the piece of wood and discovered a gap in the stones behind. Nestled in the hollow was a box. His heart pounding, the boy pulled it out. He brushed away the dust, revealing a brass plaque on its top with a name engraved into it – _Ygraine de Bois_.


	2. Part I

**Part I**

Arthur's heart hammered fiercely in his chest. It couldn't be gone. He drew a couple of ragged deep breaths, trying desperately not to fall to pieces. He'd hidden it so carefully and kept it secret, no one knew about it. His trembling hand raked through his hair as he turned on the spot, feverish eyes scanning the dishevelled room. It had to be here somewhere. It couldn't be gone, it just couldn't.

The only acceptable answer was that the false bottom of his cabinet had already fallen down before they'd left to go hunting that morning. Merlin had moved the box somewhere else, tidying it away in an unprecedented act of efficiency. This was, admittedly, unlikely. But Arthur had turned his quarters upside-down in desperate hope.

Arthur heard the door open and instantly whirled upon his manservant. "What took you so long? Where is it?"

"There are reports of-" Merlin was cut off by the agitated prince.

"The box, Merlin, where's the box?" Arthur demanded, impatiently.

"Box?" Merlin stared back blankly.

"Where have you put it?" Arthur barely restrained himself from grasping his servant by the collar.

"What box?"

Arthur did not like Merlin's doe-eyed, bewildered and innocent expression at the best of times, least not when it meant there was no acceptable answer to the box's disappearance.

The prince sank into a chair, deeply troubled. "It's nothing. It doesn't matter."

Merlin looked thoughtful. "This box...what was in it?"

Arthur scowled at him. "I said it wasn't important."

"It's just it's an odd chance – your box goes missing at the same time as winged beasts start terrorising Camelot..."

"What winged beasts?" Arthur sat forward with a start.

"I was trying to tell you, there are reports coming in from the town of giant winged beasts and they're said to be heading towards the castle."

"Then I have to stop them." Arthur was on his feet and striding for the door. He paused, turning to frown at Merlin. "Why would this have anything to do with me losing a box?"

"Well, it might just be a coincidence, but the giant winged beasts sound like magic to me..."

"Merlin, I know you're an idiot, but are you really suggesting I own a magic box?" Arthur asked, derisively.

"No, no, of course not, Sire," Merlin hastily backtracked.

"Good. Because that would be utterly ridiculous." Arthur continued out of the room.

Merlin followed, caught between wanting to dash off to find Gaius and wanting to find out what Arthur was planning on doing next. On the one hand, he needed to find out if there was magic involved, but at the same time he needed to be at Arthur's side if the prince was about to go after the beasts. There certainly was a determined quality to his friend's stride, and his hand gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist.

They rounded the corner and Merlin was spared from his internal deliberations, as Gaius hurried towards them.

"You've heard, Sire?" the court physician asked, anxiously. He glanced from Arthur to Merlin.

"About the beasts? Yes," the prince confirmed.

"It seems there are five of them and they're getting-"

Suddenly there was a tremendous crash. Smashed glass rained down into the corridor. They dived for cover. Part of something membrane-like flapped frantically, caught in the broken window for a moment, before pulling itself free and disappearing.

"-closer," Gaius finished needlessly.

Arthur moved tentatively back towards the broken window, shattered glass crunching under his boots. He looked out into the square.

"What the...?" The prince stared, not believing his eyes.

Merlin and Gaius came up behind him and looked out as well. They gasped and exchanged astounded glances.

"They're giant..._butterflies_?" Merlin gaped.

Sure enough the three winged beasts currently wheeling erratically around the castle were giant butterflies with ten-foot wings beautifully decorated in blue and yellow.

"How extraordinary," Gaius mused, "if I'm not mistaken those are _Lycaeides Ygraineus_. Although somewhat larger than I had imagined."

Arthur's throat was dry. It had to be a coincidence. Gaius turned to him, but Arthur didn't take his wide-eyed stare away from the giant butterflies.

"They are a rare species discovered by an explorer named Jebrah, who was a childhood friend of your mother, Sire, and he named them after her."

Arthur swallowed thickly. His chest felt tight. It _had_ to be a coincidence. A cruel coincidence.

"I don't think they're real..." Merlin spoke up. "Look," he pointed, "they sort of flicker in and out of existence in patches."

"Magic?" Arthur asked, his voice strangely hoarse.

"It could be," Gaius answered, grimly.

"They don't seem to be going after anyone," Merlin pointed out, still looking outside, "they're just causing damage by being so...clumsy. And big."

"A spell gone wrong, perhaps," Gaius suggested.

"Or it might not be sorcery at all," Arthur said, drawing himself up. "Gaius, find out whether Jebrah's butterflies are supposed to be this size and whether there's any natural reason for them to come here."

"Yes, Sire. May I borrow Merlin to assist me?"

"Yes," Arthur said distractedly, already turning to leave, "of course." He walked off down the corridor, deep in troubled thought.

Merlin couldn't have stumbled upon a truth earlier, could he? Surely nothing in that box had been magical? Arthur didn't trust his ability to identify a dormant magical object. Had he really kept such a thing all this time? Was his ignorance now costing his kingdom dearly?

For the first time, Arthur wished he'd told his father about the box ten years ago. But, more than that, he really hoped he wasn't going to have to tell the King now.

TBC...


	3. Part II

**Part II**

In Gaius's chambers, the court physician hunted through his books for information on Jebrah. He hadn't bothered looking up the _Lycaeides Ygraineus_ butterflies, for aside from their flickering appearance, he had another good reason to suspect magic was involved.

"Jebrah was not only an explorer, but also a sorcerer," Gaius confided in Merlin.

The boy's interest was further piqued. He leaned forward on the table, eagerly watching Gaius flick through the pages.

"But not a malevolent one, though," Gaius continued. "I knew him." He became somewhat wistful. "As far as I know, he escaped the Great Purge, but where he is now I have no idea. Ah-hah!" He triumphantly tapped the book's page. "Here we are, this describes a number of magical trinkets Jebrah made..." He briefly ran through them until coming to a crucial object. "...a butterfly pendant." He quirked an eyebrow at Merlin.

"Well, that can't be a coincidence, surely?" The boy grinned excitedly.

There was a brief knock at the door and then Arthur stepped inside. Gaius closed and pushed aside his book as subtly as possible.

"Have you found out anything?" the prince demanded.

"It is magic," Merlin told him.

"It's highly _likely_ that it is magic," Gaius corrected. "There was a magical pendant made in the image of a _Lycaeides Ygraineus_ butterfly."

Arthur inexplicably paled and looked terrified, as if Gaius had just presented him with his worst fear.

"Arthur?" Merlin stared in concern, as the prince lowered himself onto a stool.

"Merlin, earlier I..." Arthur cleared his throat, trying to regain some strength to his voice. "That missing box, you might have been right about it being connected to the beasts..." The prince took a deep breath. "It contained a pendant, which was a gift to my mother from Jebrah, and a letter telling her he'd discovered the rare butterflies."

"Was the pendant a gold chain with a gold butterfly embedded with blue and yellow gems?" Gaius asked.

"Yes." Arthur sighed. "It looked just like the giant butterflies."

"Did you know Jebrah was a sorcerer?" Gaius asked, carefully.

Arthur sighed again. "I was beginning to suspect. You know what the pendant is, don't you?"

Gaius nodded. "It's magical." He eyed the prince warily. "Sire, how did you come to have the butterfly pendant? What exactly is this missing box and where did it come from?"

"That's not important," Arthur declared, standing up. "How do I stop these magical beasts?"

"They're not really beasts," Gaius explained. "The butterfly pendant was supposed to emit conjured images of _Lycaeides Ygraineus_ butterflies – small, harmless images with a limited range. The pendant is merely a toy. Something must have gone wrong, it's damaged somehow, maybe because the spell was cast so long ago or someone has tampered with it."

"Intended or not, the thing is causing harm and needs to be destroyed," Arthur pointed out.

"The pendant can be turned off," Gaius told him.

"How?"

"There's a switch," Gaius replied, surprisingly them with the mundaneness of it.

"But that still means I need to find the pendant."

"We need to find the person who took your box," Merlin spoke up.

Arthur stilled. "Hmm, the box." He rubbed a hand over his jaw. "The King must not find out that I had this butterfly pendant, or the box." The prince glared sternly at Gaius. "In fact," he winced, "it's probably best that Uther doesn't know about the connection to my mother at all."

Gaius frowned, but didn't protest.

"Gaius, you are to tell my father not to worry, that I'm dealing with the beasts. It's all in hand."

The elder man looked at Arthur with curiosity and concern, but said nothing, merely nodding in obedience.

"Merlin, come with me." The prince headed for the door.

Gaius caught Merlin's arm, holding him back for a moment, as Arthur left the room. "You must find out what else was in the box and how Arthur came by it," he whispered, urgently.

Merlin frowned, feeling defensive of Arthur's privacy.

"It may be gravely important, Merlin," Gaius pressed.

"Merlin, hurry up and stop dawdling!" the prince's voice called impatiently from down the corridor.

Merlin bit his lip, hurriedly reading Gaius's earnest expression. "I'll try, but I won't promise anything."

Satisfied, Gaius released his arm and Merlin rushed to catch up with Arthur.

TBC...


	4. Part III

**Part III**

"I've spoken to the guard and they saw a man running away from the castle this morning," Arthur told Merlin, as they crossed the castle square. "We'll start at The Rising Sun. The inn's a common dwelling for thieves and swindlers." The prince frowned. "But what I can't work out is how someone knew to look, let alone where to look for the pendant. No one knew about the box."

"Even I didn't know about it," Merlin said, more pointedly than he'd intended.

Arthur was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to pay much attention.

"Jebrah made a magical looking glass to keep track of his magical trinkets," Merlin told him. "He was always losing things, according to Gaius."

Arthur glared indignantly. "Gaius knows a lot of things..." He had not liked the court physician's interest in the box. It had nothing to do with him, and as an old friend to the King, his loyalty lay with Uther when it came to any secrets the prince may have.

Merlin looked uneasy, and Arthur eyed him critically for a moment. He knew the court physician had taken the boy under his wing, becoming a kind of father figure, and Merlin shared a more open friendship with him than he did with Arthur. But the prince did not like to think that Merlin would tattle on him to Gaius. Merlin was ultimately faithful to him over Gaius, wasn't he? Regardless of how they behaved on a daily basis, when something serious happened, when push came to shove, they always had the other's back. It wasn't something they ever discussed, but they had both shown themselves to be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for each other. That had to count, right? But then again, he suspected Merlin might do the same for Gaius.

"Then the thief must have Jebrah's mirror," Arthur said finally.

"Yup," Merlin agreed.

A stir ran through The Rising Sun when the crown prince entered with his manservant, a murmur spreading the news of their arrival. Almost immediately a figure ran for the backdoor.

Arthur made chase, pushing his way through the inn. Merlin followed close behind.

Just outside the backdoor, the prince grabbed the tunic of the fleeing man and flung him against the outer wall of the inn. He pinned him there with a strong arm across his throat. The man was a short, spindly fellow dressed as a peasant but a heavy moneybag bulged at his hip.

"And where might you be going in such a hurry?" Arthur growled into the man's face.

"I-I didn't mean for them to get loose, I didn't think they'd be s-so big," the thief stuttered fearfully, "but I can't turn it off."

"Where's the pendant? Where's the box?" Arthur demanded.

"T-the pendant's here. A-and Lady Ygraine's box is upstairs in my room."

Arthur lessened his hold and the thief revealed the butterfly pendant in his trembling hand.

Suddenly a huge shadow passed over them and huge blue and yellow wings flapped in the sky above. The thief shrieked, scrabbling away from Arthur's hold as they all ducked. The pendant fell to the ground.

The giant butterfly fluttered erratically, knocking into the town's buildings. Merlin grabbed for the pendant, Arthur ushering him behind him, sword glinting in the sunlight as the butterfly started to make another ungainly approach. It hit a tree and fell into a tailspin, heading right for them.

Merlin turned his attention to the pendant.

"_Oncierre_," he commanded, his irises flashing gold.

The giant butterfly disappeared into thin air.

Arthur turned to Merlin, mystified, to find his servant holding up the pendant triumphantly.

"Did you do that?" Arthur asked, incredulously.

"I turned it off," Merlin replied, grinning smugly. He waggled the butterfly pendant's tiny switch. "It's completely dead now, though. Look. Completely safe."

Arthur tentatively reached for it. "Are you sure?" He turned the pendant over in his hand, preciously.

"Yes. The magic has gone from it."

Arthur seemed happy enough to believe him and headed for the inn door. Merlin followed him up to the thief's room. He helped the prince search, although somewhat less desperately than Arthur.

A gleeful cry announced Arthur's discovery of the box inside a drawer. As he hastily pulled it out, a handheld mirror fell to the floor. The prince looked at it for a moment before, very intentionally, standing on it, cracking the glass.

Arthur moved off, peering inside the box to check if any of the contents were missing. Merlin stared at the broken magical mirror, unable to completely suppress his disappointment.

Merlin dragged his gaze back up to Arthur. "What about the thief?"

"Oh, he's not a concern. He's no real risk, and charging him with the theft would entail my father finding out. And that is something best avoided." Arthur's eyes bored darkly into Merlin.

"Wouldn't your father like to know you've got your mother's possessions back safely?" Merlin asked, innocently.

"No." Arthur scowled. "He doesn't know I had the box. I'm not sure he even knows it exists."

Merlin looked curious, but was quiet.

Arthur suddenly sighed, wearily. He sank down onto the edge on the bed, resting the box on his knees. He rubbed his thumb over the brass plaque on the wooden box's lid. Merlin could just make out the engraved name – _Ygraine de Bois_.

"My father would be angry if he knew I had it," the prince confided, quietly.

Merlin moved to sit beside his friend. "But why? Surely he'd want you to have something of your mother's."

Arthur found himself continuing to talk, despite his earlier concerns about Merlin leaking information to Gaius, who might in turn tell Uther. There was something about Merlin. Arthur couldn't stop himself from liking him, couldn't help himself from daring to trust him.

"I've had ten years to either put it back or confess to him that I stole it from the locked room that belonged to the Queen. He would not welcome the deception." Arthur looked away. "Besides, I learnt at a young age not to bring up my mother in his presence."

Merlin didn't know what to say, so merely sat with Arthur for a while. The prince opened the box again and rifled through the letters and trinkets within, touching each with great care and love. Merlin soon realised that it was a secret place for personal treasures, which Ygraine had used into adulthood in indulgence of childish fancy. He didn't see how Arthur having it could do any harm. In the unlikely event of the box going missing again, he felt sure Arthur would tell him immediately now that he knew all about it. Merlin could understand what the box must mean to the motherless Arthur, and there was no way he would ever rat him out to Uther about anything. He'd tell Gaius not to worry about it, there was no need to get so gravely serious. Arthur merely had some toys and letters.

Arthur didn't say anything else and it wasn't long before he closed the box again and stood up. They started to head back to the castle. The prince had regained his usual confident air, but remained quiet and thoughtful.

As they neared the castle gates, Arthur paused and turned to Merlin. "There's something I don't understand...my mother was friends with a sorcerer."

**Fin**

A/N: What did you think? Enjoyable? Boring?


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